Rights of Love: the State and Intimate Relationships in Canada and the United States

Abstract

This article puzzles through the contrasts and paradoxes arising from state practices of relationship recognition in Canada and the United States. In the Canadian case, the focus is on the assignment of legal status to common-law relationships, regardless of whether the parties to the relationship desire that status. In the United States, in contrast, legislative attention has been directed at the reinforcement of heterosexual marriage. These differing postures provoke questions regarding the roles of intimate relationships in governing projects. In particular, what do these postures mean for the autonomy of individuals to construct their personal lives and how do they complicate the designation “neoliberal” to Canadian and US regimes of governance.

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